In every corner of the internet, you’ll find someone touting that SEO is dead. Perhaps it’s that belief that causes you to believe your current SEO strategy isn’t working. However, the following couldn’t be more true; as long as people are searching on the internet, SEO is alive.
If that’s the case, then the next logical thing to assess is what is impacting your brand’s SEO strategy. Search engines like Google consider hundreds of variables when connecting a user’s query to an answer. Your goal in optimizing your brand’s online authority is to satisfy both the user’s query and search engines.
That said, here are five often overlooked areas of SEO that you ought to evaluate for your organic content.
1. You’re Not Organizing Your Content
One of the reasons your SEO strategy likely isn’t yielding desirable results is that you’re not clustering your content.
SEO today has moved past focusing solely on individual keywords. While that’s definitely still important, Google likes to see relationships in your content where one page points to a similarly related page. Moreover, the content that points to one page ought to have other content that also supports that page, and so on. In simple terms, it’s all built around content clusters.
The pillar page provides a broad, in-depth exploration of a topic, while the cluster content dives into specific subtopics related to the pillar. This structure helps search engines understand the context and relevance of your content. When Google sees a well-organized content cluster, it recognizes the depth and authority of your site on a particular subject, which can improve your rankings.
2. You’re Focusing on the Wrong Keywords
You might think targeting high-volume keywords is the core focus of your content, but search volume alone isn’t the only thing you’ll want to pay attention to. Search engines are getting smarter at discerning what users are truly seeking when they type in a query. Simply ranking for a high-volume keyword won’t help if the intent behind it doesn’t align with your business goals.
Search intent usually falls into three categories — informational searches, commercial searches, and transactional searches. Informational searches are what people search for when they’re trying to learn more about a topic. Commercial intent searches are when people seek to educate themselves on a topic before choosing whether or not to buy. Transactional searches are searches people make when they’re ready to make a purchasing decision.
On top of choosing high-volume keywords, you want to make sure the quality of the content addresses the search intent of the query that will lead people to your content.
3. Your Content Lacks Depth and Quality
Gone are the days when you could post short, surface-level articles stuffed with keywords and expect to see results. Search engines prioritize high-quality, in-depth content that provides actual value to users. If your content is fluffy, lacks detail, or plainly doesn’t answer the questions users are asking, it’s likely holding back your SEO performance.
Why? Because search engines are catching on to the fact that your content isn’t satisfying users. So, what will the search engine do in that case? It will prioritize other information sources over yours — ones that provide more substance on the topic.
Take the time to research your topics thoroughly and offer actionable insights, case studies, or unique perspectives. Not only will this help you rank higher, but it will also establish your brand as an authority in your field.
4. Your Backlink Profile Is Weak
Backlinks remain one of the most critical factors for improving SEO rankings. If you’re not seeing results, it could be because your backlink profile is lacking. Search engines use backlinks as a measure of your site’s credibility, so if other reputable sites aren’t linking to yours, it could negatively impact your ranking.
Focus on building high-quality backlinks from authoritative sources in your industry. To start, you can offer guest posts on sites that complement your brand. You can also connect with influencers who show interest in your brand’s message and products.
Perhaps the most powerful thing you can do to drive inbound links from external sources is to create a linkable asset on your website. These assets are features of your website that provide some sort of functional value to people. Maybe it’s a calculator, an estimation tool, or a DIY custom design tool for your product.
Whatever you do, try to avoid link exchanges, even accidentally. If Google discovers you’re linking to several domains that are also linking back to you, it can be grounds for manual penalties.
5. You’re Expecting Instant Results
SEO is a long-term game. One of the biggest reasons people presume their strategies aren’t working is because they’re too impatient to see results. Unlike paid advertising, which can deliver instant traffic, SEO takes time to build momentum.
Factors like domain age, consistent content updates, and backlink growth all play a part in how quickly your site will rank.
To that end, it’s important to set realistic expectations and understand that meaningful results can take months to obtain. Stick to your strategy, make adjustments based on performance data, and trust the process. Over time, the consistent application of SEO best practices will pay off.
Pace Yourself
If your SEO strategy isn’t producing the desired results, it’s crucial to pinpoint the problem areas and adjust your approach. Focus on clustering your content, concentrating content quality around search intentions, and building your backlinks. If you do these things, you can expect stronger results down the line.
Be patient with your pacing. SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t give up on it, and it will pay back lasting, recurring dividends.
